Recent evidence indicates that histone deacetylase enzymes contribute to ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury, and pan-HDAC inhibitors have been shown to be cardioprotective when administered either before an ischemic insult or during reperfusion. The inventors have shown previously that selective inhibition of class I HDACs provides superior cardioprotection when compared to pan-HDAC inhibition in a pretreatment model, but selective class I HDAC inhibition has not been tested during reperfusion. Little is known about the exact mechanism by which HDAC inhibition confers cardioprotection against I/R injury.
A need exists in the art, therefore, for HDAC inhibitors for the treatment of I/R injury and cardioprotection.